JP2008013633A - Emulsion fuel, its manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manufacture an emulsion fuel which can be made a stabilized emulsion fuel to enable long-term storage, and furthermore has gasoline as a raw material. <P>SOLUTION: This method for manufacturing the emulsion fuel has an agitation step of causing an agitation stream of a liquid and an emulsification step of allowing the liquid to pass through pores of a ceramic molded product to form an emulsion and comprises feeding water to a petroleum-based liquid fuel in circulation to the agitation step and the emulsification step, thereafter feeding an additive A mainly having a nonionic surface active agent, a liquid alcohol, oil, and alkali water, then feeding an additive B mainly having an anionic surface active agent and alkali water, and circulating the mixed liquid thereof among the above agitation step and the emulsification step more than one time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an emulsion fuel used as a fuel for a gasoline engine, a diesel engine, a boiler, and the like, a manufacturing apparatus and a manufacturing method thereof.

  The emulsion fuel is generally a W / O type (water-in-oil type) emulsion. In this emulsion fuel, the fuel particles (oil particles) surrounding the water molecules are further subdivided by the micro-explosion of the water particles in a high-temperature atmosphere in the combustor such as an engine, so that the fuel oil and air are good. Since these contact areas are increased in a mixed state, the fuel oil is completely burned and soot and dust in the exhaust gas can be reduced. That is, the water vaporized under 1 atmosphere expands to a volume of about 1700 times, and the water particles contained in the W / O emulsion fuel boils instantaneously, vaporizes and expands, A micro-explosion occurs in which the oil particles are crushed and blown away, and the fuel oil is completely burned by this micro-explosion.

  In such an emulsion fuel, combustion can be performed with a reduced air ratio, so that there is no loss of heat loss due to the reduced amount of exhaust gas. Further, since the amount of combustion air is reduced, the residence time of the combustion gas in the combustor is lengthened, and heat exchange can be performed efficiently and heat loss can be reduced. Furthermore, the emulsion fuel has a merit that the amount of NOx and SOx generated can be suppressed because the combustion gas completely burns.

Since such emulsion fuel uses incompatible water and oil, an emulsification treatment for emulsifying by lowering the interfacial tension by using a surfactant is essential. As a conventional emulsion fuel, Patent Document 1 discloses that a petroleum liquid fuel having a boiling point of 130 to 425 ° C. (that is, light oil or heavy oil) is 70 to 95% by weight, ethanol is 2 to 25% by weight, and water is 0.002 to 0. It is described that 5 to 100% by weight of a surfactant such as an amine surfactant or an ether surfactant is mixed and emulsified with respect to 0.8% by weight. Patent Document 2 describes that 70% by weight of diesel oil is mixed with 25% by weight or less of water and emulsified using 50% by weight or less of a surfactant. Furthermore, Patent Document 3 describes that heavy oil or light oil is used as a petroleum-based liquid fuel, and ultrasonic vibration is applied when emulsifying tap water using a surfactant to the fuel.
Special table 2004-515641 gazette Special table 2005-504875 gazette JP 2001-13964 A

  However, the conventional emulsion fuel has the following problems.

(1) Since the stability as an emulsion is small, the form of the emulsion can be maintained only for a few days at room temperature. Therefore, when it is stored for a long time, it becomes unusable after oil-water separation.
(2) Although emulsification for heavy oil and light oil is possible, emulsification for gasoline is difficult. For this reason, when emulsifying gasoline, not only a large-scale facility is required, but also a large amount of surfactant is required, which causes a rise in cost and is not practical. Furthermore, even if gasoline is emulsified in this way, only an extremely unstable emulsified state can be obtained. For this reason, the emulsion fuel can only be applied to diesel engines, boilers, etc., and cannot be applied to gasoline engines mounted on automobiles, and has a narrow application range. or,
(3) The initial ignition to the emulsion fuel cannot be performed. For this reason, when using emulsion fuel, it is currently the case that the engine, boiler, etc. are driven by burning heavy oil and light oil at the beginning, and the drive is stable and switching to the emulsion fuel at the point in time. Is an unfinished stage.

  The present invention has been made in view of the conventional problems as described above, and can be made into a stable emulsion state and can be stored for a long period of time. It is an object of the present invention to provide an emulsion fuel that can be emulsified and can be applied as a fuel for a gasoline engine, and that can be easily ignited and is convenient for use.

  The emulsion fuel according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises petroleum liquid fuel 20 to 70% by weight, water 5 to 70% by weight, surfactant 1 to 10% by weight, alkaline water 3 to 15% by weight, liquid alcohol 0.05 It is characterized in that it is a W / O emulsion emulsified by passing through the pores of a ceramic molded body, containing as a main component ˜0.5% by weight and 0.03 to 0.3% by weight of oil.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the emulsion fuel according to claim 1, wherein the petroleum-based liquid fuel is gasoline.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the emulsion fuel according to claim 1, wherein the surfactant is a nonionic surfactant and an anionic surfactant.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for producing an emulsion fuel, wherein the liquid according to any one of the first to third aspects is supplied and a stirrer for generating a stirring flow with respect to the supplied liquid, and a ceramic having fine pores. An emulsifier made of a molded body, in which the liquid supplied from the stirrer is supplied to the inside and passes through the pores to form an emulsion, and a circulation path for circulating the liquid between the emulsifier and the stirrer It is characterized by having.

  The method for producing an emulsion fuel according to claim 5 includes a stirring step for generating a liquid stirring flow and an emulsification step for forming the emulsion by passing the liquid through the pores of the ceramic molded body. After supplying water to the circulating petroleum-based liquid fuel, the additive A mainly composed of nonionic surfactant, liquid alcohol, oil agent and alkaline water is supplied, and then the anionic surfactant and alkali Additive B mainly composed of water is supplied, and the mixed solution is circulated a plurality of times between the stirring step and the emulsifying step.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the method for producing an emulsion fuel according to the fifth aspect, wherein the water is supplied after being atomized.

  According to the emulsion fuel of the present invention, petroleum-based liquid fuel, water, surfactant, alkaline water, liquid alcohol, and oil agent are used as raw materials, and the emulsion becomes stable by passing through the pores of the ceramic molded body. Yes. For this reason, it can be stored for a long time (for example, 1 year or more) without oil-water separation. In addition, ignition from the beginning of engine start is possible, and it can be used as fuel from the beginning instead of gasoline or heavy oil. Furthermore, the emulsion fuel of the present invention can be stably emulsified with gasoline and can be applied to a gasoline engine.

  According to the emulsion fuel production apparatus of the present invention, since it has a structure in which an emulsifier composed of a stirrer and a ceramic molded body is provided and emulsification is performed by circulating between them, the structure is simple and the size is reduced. be able to. For this reason, it can be used by being incorporated in the engine without making a large-scale modification to the automobile, and can be versatile.

  According to the method for producing an emulsion fuel of the present invention, after supplying water to a petroleum-based liquid fuel, an additive A mainly composed of a nonionic surfactant, a liquid alcohol, an oil agent and alkaline water is supplied, and then Since the procedure for supplying the additive B mainly composed of an anionic surfactant and alkaline water is performed, a stable W / O type emulsion fuel can be produced. Further, since emulsion is circulated while passing through the pores of the ceramic molded body, the emulsion particles can be finely divided to 1 μm or less. Thereby, the produced emulsion fuel can be stored for a long time without oil-water separation, and even when gasoline is used as a raw material, a stable emulsion fuel can be obtained.

  The emulsion fuel of the present invention contains petroleum liquid fuel, water and surfactant, alkaline water, liquid alcohol, and oil as main components.

  As petroleum-based liquid fuels, heavy oil, light oil, and gasoline are used individually. As described later, the present invention is characterized in that not only heavy oil and light oil conventionally used as emulsion fuel but also gasoline which has been considered difficult as a raw material for emulsion fuel can be used. That is, according to the present invention, even when gasoline is used as a petroleum-based liquid fuel, stable emulsification can be achieved and long-term storage can be achieved. Petroleum-based liquid fuels such as gasoline are used in a blending ratio of 20 to 70% by weight. Here, when gasoline is used as the petroleum-based liquid fuel, the blending ratio of 30 to 60% by weight is good, and the use ratio can be reduced as compared with the conventional emulsion fuel.

  As water, tap water that is easily available can be used, and it is used in a blending ratio of 5 to 70% by weight, preferably 20 to 60% by weight. In the present invention, even if the blending ratio of water to petroleum-based liquid fuel is increased in this way, complete combustion is possible and combustion efficiency does not decrease. Furthermore, this is because the W / O type emulsion particles of the present invention are 1 μm or less, and heat transfer to the emulsion particles is performed at high speed and reliably in a combustion furnace such as an engine. Thus, since the blending ratio of water increases, the blending ratio of petroleum-based liquid fuel can be relatively reduced, so that fuel consumption can be suppressed.

  The surfactant is used in a blending ratio of 1 to 10% by weight. As the surfactant, a nonionic surfactant and an anionic surfactant are used. As the nonionic surfactant, one or a plurality of fatty acid esters such as polyoxy fatty acid esters and polyoxyethylene fatty acid esters, sorbitan monococonut oil, sorbitan monostearate, polyoxyethylene (POE) lanolin and the like are selected. be able to. When gasoline is used as the petroleum liquid fuel, it is preferable to use a petroleum surfactant such as polyoxy fatty acid ester or polyoxyethylene fatty acid ester.

  As an anionic surfactant, α-olefin sulfonate represented by the trade name “Lipolane PB-800” (Lion Corporation), sodium lauryl sulfate, glyceryl monostearate, polyethylene glycol monolaurate, polyoxyethylene stearyl One or more of ether, polyglycerin fatty acid ester, sodium alkyl sulfate, dimethicone polyol, and sucrose fatty acid ester can be selected. When gasoline is used as the petroleum-based liquid fuel, it is preferable to use an α-olefin sulfonate such as sodium α-olefin sulfonate as the anionic surfactant.

  The blending ratio of the above surfactant is determined within the above blending ratio range depending on the type and blending ratio of the petroleum-based liquid fuel to be used and further the blending ratio of water. In the production of emulsion fuel, the nonionic surfactant and the anionic surfactant are not used at the same time. First, the nonionic surfactant is mixed, and then the anionic surfactant is mixed. It is.

  As the alkaline water, an aqueous solution of an alkali metal such as sodium or potassium, an aqueous solution of an alkaline earth metal such as magnesium or calcium, or a mixture thereof can be used. By using these alkaline waters, the water described above can be made into ionic water, and emulsification can be easily performed. The blending ratio of the alkaline water can be 3 to 15% by weight, preferably 8 to 12% by weight.

  Liquid alcohol is used as a drainage agent for gasoline engines, and in the present invention, it is not necessary to use a drainage agent in gasoline engines by blending this liquid alcohol with emulsion fuel. As the liquid alcohol, one or more of low molecular weight alcohols such as isopropyl alcohol (IPA), absolute ethanol, and methanol can be used. The blending ratio of the liquid alcohol is appropriately selected within the range of 0.05 to 0.5% by weight.

  As the oil agent, one or more of hydrophilic petrolatum, glycerin, white petrolatum, olive oil, avocado oil, lecithin, silicone oil and the like can be used. In the case of using gasoline as the petroleum-based liquid fuel, it is preferable to use hydrophilic petrolatum. The blending ratio of the oil can be arbitrarily selected within the range of 0.03 to 0.3% by weight.

  The method for producing an emulsion fuel according to the present invention is carried out by allowing a petroleum-based liquid fuel such as gasoline, water and the above-mentioned additive to pass through the pores of the ceramic molded body while stirring. In this case, first, water is mixed in a state in which petroleum-based liquid fuel such as gasoline is circulated, then, additive A containing a nonionic surfactant is mixed, and then additive B containing an ionic surfactant is added. Supply.

  Additive A is a mixed liquid mainly composed of a nonionic surfactant such as polyoxy fatty acid ester and the above-mentioned liquid alcohol, oil, and alkaline water. Additive B is a mixed liquid mainly composed of α-olefin sulfonate and alkaline water. That is, in the production method of the present invention, the first stage of emulsification is first performed with the additive A mainly composed of a nonionic surfactant, and then the additive B mainly composed of an anionic surfactant is added to the second step. The stage is emulsified. In addition to this, in the present invention, these mixed liquids are circulated so as to pass through the pores of the ceramic molded body a plurality of times. Thereby, the particle diameter is small and a stable emulsified W / O type emulsion. It becomes possible to produce fuel.

  FIG. 1 shows a production apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a stirrer 2 and an emulsifier 3 are arranged side by side and are arranged in a circulation container 4.

  The stirrer 2 has an inlet 2a opened at the top, and a stirring blade 5 is rotatably provided inside. The stirring blade 5 is attached to a rotating shaft 6 a of the motor 6, and rotates at high speed in the stirrer 2 by driving the motor 6. Reference numeral 7 denotes a DC power supply for supplying electric power for rotating the motor 6. The liquid introduced into the agitator 2 is agitated by the high-speed rotation of the agitating blade 5, discharged as an agitated flow, and introduced into the emulsifier 3.

  The emulsifier 3 is formed of a ceramic molded body having fine pores. As the ceramic molded body, for example, it is a bottomed cylindrical body based on basalt, iron ore, zeolite, clay, etc., and after being molded into a bottomed cylindrical body, it is unglazed or pre-sintered. By this, it has a porous state. The pores formed in the ceramic molded body preferably have a diameter of 1.0 to 5.0 μm and a porosity of 70% or more. The emulsifier 3 receives the liquid from the stirrer 2 by connecting one inlet 3 a to the outlet 2 b of the stirrer 2. Since the liquid introduced into the emulsifier 3 has a stirring flow based on the rotation of the stirring blade 5, it moves through the pores while being pushed in the pores of the ceramic molded body. During the movement in the pores, the liquid is further mixed and emulsified to become an emulsion and is atomized, and then discharged to the outside of the ceramic molded body through the pores.

  The circulation container 4 is provided so as to wrap outside the stirrer 2 and the emulsifier 3, and guides the emulsion discharged from the emulsifier 3 to enter the stirrer 2 again. Therefore, in this production apparatus 1, the emulsified emulsion is circulated through the stirrer 2 and the emulsifier 3 a plurality of times, and further emulsification proceeds and fine particles are formed by this circulation. The emulsion fuel that has been circulated a predetermined number of times is taken out from an outlet 13 provided on the downstream side of the emulsifier 3 in the circulation container 4 and supplied to a combustor such as an engine.

  In FIG. 1, 8 is an inlet for petroleum-based liquid fuel such as gasoline, 9 is an inlet for water, 10 is an inlet for additives A and B, and is provided on the opposite side of the circulation vessel 4 from the emulsifier 3. . In addition, the partition plate 11 is provided in the part facing the inlet 2a of the stirrer 2 in the circulation container 4 so that it may hang down. This partition plate 11 is smoothly introduced into the agitator 2 without collision between the flow of petroleum-based liquid fuel, water, additives A and B before emulsification and the flow of the emulsion emulsified by the emulsifier 3. belongs to.

  Next, a procedure for producing an emulsion fuel of gasoline using the production apparatus 1 described above will be described. The motor 6 can be used with an output of 67 W, and is driven by a DC voltage of about 12V. By driving the motor 6, the stirring blade 5 rotates at a high speed of 1750 rpm. Due to the high speed rotation of the stirring blade 5, a fluid pressure of 0.18 Kpa is generated in the stirrer 2. Due to this fluid pressure, the liquid flows in the circulation container 4 at a flow rate of 13.7 liters / minute.

  25 parts by weight of polyoxy fatty acid ester, 10 parts by weight of IPA, 1.5 parts by weight of hydrophilic petrolatum, and 65 parts by weight of an alkali solution made of calcium hydroxide are mixed to produce 100 parts by weight of additive A as a whole. . On the other hand, 2.5 parts by weight of the trade name “Lipolane” and 10 parts by weight of alkaline water are mixed to produce 100 parts by weight of additive B as a whole. Further, tap water is used as water, and tourmaline ore is immersed in the tap water and left for a while to make the tap water fine particles.

  The blending ratio of the emulsion fuel is 50% by weight of commercially available gasoline, 40% by weight of fine tap water, 6% by weight of Additive A, and 4% by weight of Additive B. Adjust to produce.

  FIG. 2 shows a timing chart when the emulsion fuel is manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus 1 of FIG. First, at time T1, the motor 6 is driven by the power source 7 to rotate the stirring blade 5 at high speed. In this state, an amount of gasoline corresponding to 50% by weight is introduced into the circulation container 4 from the inlet 8. At time T2 following time T1, finely divided water is introduced into the circulation container 4 from the inlet 9 so that the amount corresponds to 40% by weight. At a subsequent time T3, an amount of additive A corresponding to 6% by weight is introduced into the circulation container 4 from the inlet 10. Since these introduced liquids move along the stirring flow, they enter the emulsifier 3 from the stirrer 2 and are emulsified and finely divided when passing through the pores of the emulsifier 3.

  At time T4 following time T3, an amount of additive B corresponding to 4% by weight is introduced into the circulation container 4 from the inlet 10. Thereby, all the raw materials are introduced into the circulation container 4. All the raw materials are stirred by high-speed rotation of the stirring blade 5 and then introduced into the emulsifier 3 and pass through the pores of the ceramic molded body. When passing through the pores, the raw materials are emulsified and finely divided to become emulsion fuel. . Further, after the emulsion fuel escapes from the porosity of the ceramic molded body, the emulsion fuel flows in the reverse direction in the circulation container 4 and is stirred again in the stirrer 2. Emulsification and micronization are performed. By performing the above circulation at least three times, a stable W / O type emulsion fuel having a particle size of 1 μm or less can be produced.

  In the emulsion fuel produced as described above, heat exchange efficiency is good, heat loss can be reduced, and combustion gas completely burns, so that the amount of NOx and SOx generated can be suppressed. Not only has the original advantages of fuel, it can be an emulsion fuel made from gasoline. Further, since the amount of fuel such as gasoline used is small, the amount of the surfactant is also reduced, and the cost can be reduced. Furthermore, since it is a finely divided stable W / O emulsion, it can be stored for a long period of time without oil-water separation for more than one year. Further, ignition can be performed from the beginning of engine start, and it can be used as fuel from the beginning instead of gasoline.

  FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which the production apparatus 1 of the present invention is incorporated in an existing gasoline engine in an automobile. In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a water tank, which is filled with a tourmaline 22 so as to perform a water micronization process. In this case, zeolite, barley stone, ion exchange resin, wisdom precious stone, or activated carbon may be used instead of tourmaline. Reference numeral 23 denotes an additive A tank, and reference numeral 24 denotes an additive B tank. These tanks are connected to flow sensors 25, 26, and 27, respectively, and the flow sensors 25, 26, and 27 are connected to pumps 28, 29, and 30, respectively.

  The water tank pump 28 is connected to the inlet 9 of the manufacturing apparatus 1, and the pumps 29, 30 of the additive A tank 23 and the additive B tank 24 are connected to the inlet 10 of the manufacturing apparatus 1. Reference numeral 31 denotes an on-vehicle fuel tank, which is connected to the inlet 8 of the manufacturing apparatus 1 via the adjustment valve 32. The manufacturing apparatus 1 is connected to a gasoline engine 35 via a carburetor 34 and supplies the manufactured emulsion fuel to the gasoline engine 35 via a carburetor 34.

  As shown in FIG. 3, pumps 28, 29, 30 and the manufacturing apparatus 1 are connected to a controller 45, and the supply amounts of water and additives A and B and the rotation speed of the motor in the manufacturing apparatus 1 are the same as those of gasoline used. It is controlled according to the amount. Thus, when connecting the manufacturing apparatus 1 to an on-vehicle gasoline engine, it is possible to produce an optimal emulsion fuel tailored to each automobile, and to supply the produced emulsion fuel to the engine. It is possible to make specifications tailored to automobiles.

(Example 1)
One liter of additive liquid A was prepared by mixing 25% by weight of polyoxy fatty acid ester, 10% by weight of IPA, 1.5% by weight of hydrophilic petrolatum, and 63.5% by weight of alkaline water made of calcium hydroxide solution. Further, 2.5% by weight of a surfactant having a trade name “Lipolane” was mixed with alkaline water having a calcium hydroxide solution to prepare 1 liter of additive B. Furthermore, 450 g of tourmaline ore was immersed in 1 liter of tap water to prepare water that was microparticulated.

  Gasoline was supplied to the manufacturing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the above water and additives A and B were supplied at the timing shown in FIG. 2, and the inside of the manufacturing apparatus 1 was circulated three times to produce an emulsion fuel.

  The consumption was compared using this emulsion fuel and commercial gasoline. The engine used was “Ro488” manufactured by Yanmar, with a displacement of 113 cc. The first consumption after running for 1 hour is 189 cc for commercial gasoline and 199 cc for the emulsion fuel in this example, and the second consumption is 200 cc for commercial gasoline and 199 cc for the emulsion fuel in this example. The third consumption was 199 cc for commercially available gasoline and 200 cc for the emulsion fuel in this example. As a result, it was found that the emulsion fuel of this example had the same amount of consumption as that of commercially available gasoline.

It is sectional drawing which shows the manufacturing apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a timing chart which shows a manufacture procedure. This is Blocks when the manufacturing equipment is built into an on-vehicle gasoline engine.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manufacturing apparatus 2 Stirrer 3 Emulsifier 4 Circulating container 5 Stirring blade 6 Motor 7 Power supply

Claims (6)

  Petroleum-based liquid fuel 20 to 70% by weight, water 5 to 70% by weight, surfactant 1 to 10% by weight, alkaline water 3 to 15% by weight, liquid alcohol 0.05 to 0.5% by weight and oil 0.03 An emulsion fuel characterized in that it is a W / O emulsion emulsified by passing through the pores of a ceramic molded body, the main component of which is ~ 0.3% by weight.   The emulsion fuel according to claim 1, wherein the petroleum liquid fuel is gasoline.   The emulsion fuel according to claim 1, wherein the surfactant is a nonionic surfactant or an anionic surfactant.   The liquid according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a stirrer that generates a stirring flow with respect to the supplied liquid and a ceramic molded body having fine pores, wherein the liquid supplied from the stirrer An emulsion fuel production comprising: an emulsifier that is supplied to the inside and generates an emulsion by passing through the pores; and a circulation path that circulates the liquid between the emulsifier and the agitator. apparatus.   Equipped with an agitation step for generating a liquid agitation flow and an emulsification step for making the emulsion into an emulsion by passing the liquid through the pores of the ceramic compact. After that, the additive A mainly composed of nonionic surfactant, liquid alcohol, oil agent and alkaline water is supplied, and then the additive B mainly composed of anionic surfactant and alkaline water is supplied. A method for producing an emulsion fuel, wherein the mixed liquid is circulated a plurality of times between the stirring step and the emulsifying step.   6. The method for producing an emulsion fuel according to claim 5, wherein the water is supplied after being atomized.

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